This week, Tracy Anderson visited us for a tour with Zicam Total Immune in support of October as National Immunity Month.

Exercise is actually good for building up and maintaining your immunity. A recent study showed people who exercise have greater biodiversity in their immune systems. The results: fewer markers of inflammation linked to heart and vascular damage. But more than 80% of Americans don’t get the physical activity they need.As a professional trainer and working mom, Tracy looks for ways to restore what her active life sweats out! She talked about new products like Zicam Total Immune Plus Performance Support Orange Burst Melts. They’ve got antioxidants and electrolytes that help convert food into fuel for endurance. That’s key, whether we’re running errands or running on the treadmill.Vitamins, minerals and probiotics with live active cultures and help support our natural defenses, so Tracy use Zicam Total Immune Plus Digestive Health Berry Crystals. Just toss them in your water bottle and you’re ready to go!

Now that summer is over, we at the Vidicom office were wondering what to do to keep the fun moments going through the fall. MomTrends.com founder, Nicole Feliciano came into the office this week and showed us taking a trip and continuing to bond with your loved ones has never been easier!A top priority for Nicole and all of us as moms and dads is keeping our families safe… and sometimes no matter what you do, the car still breaks down! Nicole showed us a that there’s a simple solution.Hum is a great new service from Verizon that makes you a smarter and safer driver, especially as we all start to think about winter driving. The new service is a must have for your upcoming roadtrip a few towns away or a simple trip to the mall.It predicts issues my car may be having. Like for example, you know when that check engine light is on? Hum will actually tell you what’s going on so you can get it fixed. Maintenance reminders also help to prevent breakdowns in the future.The Mechanics Hotline via the push of a button helps protect drivers with live help and emergency assistance – whether you’re driving to the grocery store or on a road trip. The built-in GPS allows help to find you if and when you need it.And if you’re like Nicole (and the rest of us), maintaining your car is easy to forget – but it’s one of the most important things you can do to prevent issues from happening in the first place! Hum makes it easy to set reminders for things like oil changes. Takes the guess work out of the car work!Nobody likes the sniffles and we know that at the first sign of a cold, we want to move fast! Nicole says to rely on Cold-EEZE – it’s the #1 pharmacist recommended brand.The classic cherry lozenge is always a favorite… for her family, she always uses Cold-EEZE Cold Remedy lozenges because they’re clinically proven to shorten the duration of your cold by almost half. It’s pretty cool actually — there’s scientific backing here. The lozenges were tested in multiple studies.For a cold that’s a bit stronger with cold and flu symptoms like cough, chest congestion, and a sore throat, the cold-EEZE Multi-Symptom QuickMelts have you covered. These have added active ingredients to fight your cold and are so easy to take… they dissolve quickly in your mouth without water.What’s unique about these products is that they release zinc ions into your mouth. The zinc is absorbed into your upper respiratory tract and fights off the cold virus.The QuickMelts and cold-eeze lozenges offer the same amount of cold remedy! And get this – the CEO guarantees 100% satisfaction or your money back!Well we just talked colds… now lets talk warm! Warm WEATHER! When it starts to get chilly outside, Nicole suggests to travel to places like Florida.Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast is my favorite spot to visit. "There’s so much for me to do as a mom, and plenty for my kids to enjoy." said NicoleThe weather is beautiful in the fall and there are so many outdoor activities. You can build your own sandcastles along Sarasota’s 38 miles of white beaches… or visit during the annual Siesta Key Crystal Classic Sand Sculpting Festival – this year it’s November 13-17.You can also take a November trip for The Chalk Festival from the 9-16… it’s free! And the streets are turned into colorful canvases of drawings in Venice… that’s in Southern Sarasota County.

It is always great to have Nicole visit and show us some great tips for the season. We look forward to having her back in the office this Holiday season to show us some fun and easy Holiday products!!

Blogging is often an underrated first line of communication between companies and consumers. Here at Vidicom we love blogs! We maintain a number of blogs and generate frequent original posts as a proactive way to shape the image of our firm and communicate our daily activities. Blogging is also an excellent networking tool. By subscribing to various blogs and communicating with our own subscribers, Vidicom has made friendships, new clients, and new business relations that, otherwise, never would have existed. As we grow, our utilization of blogging and online presence will also grow, in new and different ways, to further build our brand.For more information and tips about blogging from BuzzMavenplease read the article below! Also don't forget to check out more from Vidicom here!

Rubbing Shoulders in the Blogosphere – strategies and ideas for companies.In my last article I gave an overview of the emerging power of consumer bloggers and their ability to form powerful social networks that spread news quickly. For those feeling uneasy about this change, there is much good news. Public relations, customer service, and project communications are all enhanced using these tools. Some examples and tips:Journalists love blogs, and with good reason. It provides a ready source of information delivered to their desktop. It digs beyond the press release while making their job easier during early research. Companies that are blogging receive more journalistic interest, and some PR experts are calling blogging the “transformation of PR.” With news coverage, an existing blog can be your first line of communication with the newly-curious public. If you utilize the techniques I’ve mentioned earlier in RSS: One big happy brain you can scan ahead for items you may want to respond to in your blog.Customers, investors, and partners will see you as pro-active and dynamic through your rapid responses. The openness and honesty gives customers little reason to continue a negative message, rather, these are often praised in highly visible places producing a form of PR that money cannot buy.But don’t wait until then. I advice you become familiar with this before you need to join in. It offers an opportunity to make important connections, but not a chance for the company line. Nobody on the blogosphere wants a pitch or a “refer to our website” in place of a thoughtful answer. It’s a person-to-person style, not a podium. It’s okay to express emotion and to give the world a peek into your company’s culture. Still, one should be thoughtful enough not to embarrass the firm – and some firms are establishing blogging policies to enforce certain restrictions.What to expect after your blog is live is the next question. This varies, and you should watch blogs to see what seems to interest people in your line of business. Unfortunately, many are abandoned, and the most common reason is a lack of time. This is unfortunate, because they aren’t supposed to be long and drawn out. Even posting a new paragraph a week is going to achieve many of these goals. Timeliness, regularity, relevance, and use of important keywords are more important than perfection in blogging. Nobody is going to slam you for it when you post a fuzzy “sneak peek” of the latest product or a less-than-formal writing style.Blogs can build important contacts. Ben Cowgill, a legal ethics attorney in Lexington, says of his very popular blog “It has been far more successful than I could have imagined. The regular subscribers include lawyers throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Europe. It has also received visits from lawyers in Japan, China, Russia, Africa and South America. I have established relationships with a number of other experts in my field of practice.” Ben Cowgill’s blog can be found at legalethicsblog.com .Don’t forget…. Google loves blogs. When people create regularly updated entries it increases the frequency of the Googlebot (Google’s “scan”.) For me, changes to my website (which holds my blog) are now visible to Google within a half day, letting me try new techniques, fix mistakes, or react to news. If a hot new topic hits the web, I can post my thoughts so they become part of the buzz early – while people are still searching for it.Whether it’s about products, services, any company with motivation can create one that has real value to their visibility. Even restaurants can blog about new menus, for example, and horse farms about new foals. And no, you do not have to call it a “Blog.” You can call it “Chef’s diary,” “The Chalkboard” or “Paddock 9.”One growing use is the extending FAQ, or Frequently Asked Questions. On websites, this is frequently the most visited page, often receiving more visitors than the home page. These “blogged” FAQs can be a fast, spontaneous Q&A, answering questions like “Are there any tables left for the Blue Grass Stakes Preview Dinner next week?” you’d probably not post on your permanent FAQ page.Lastly, don’t neglect the value of “private” blogs. These are simply password-protected types meant for one known audience, such as members of a project. They maintain context, and unlike email, can be corrected if an error is posted. Some customers will subscribe via RSS and others will just hit the private webpage to read them. Everyone stays in the loop, while Email volume is reduced as well, which we all can appreciate.I hope to have expanded your view on the benifits of blogging and encouraged you to look at your own business for ideas how it might work for you.

Memorial Day Weekend is finally upon us and everybody knows what that means: Summer is officially here! Every year around this time, New Yorker's devise extravagant plans to get away from the stresses of work and make the best of this hot and sweaty city. Then September comes around and we haven't done any of it. Well Vidicom is here to help! Our numerous summer media tours provide you with the tips you need and information on products that will save your summer. Simple Steps for a Healthier Summer, Summer Survival Guide For Moms, Summer Style Guide For Guys, and 4th of July Party Tips are just a few of our gifts to you.

Here at Vidicom we work hard so we can go out and enjoy our cool summer nights and sun filled weekends. New York City is home to endless unique summer activities that sometimes get overlooked when fleeing to the beach is everybody's main priority. Well we have a list of some of our favorite things to do in the city that will make your summer hot and exciting. Many of which have been featured in our CityBuzz weekly content, so make sure you stay up to date on the hottest summer trends according to us. Here are our favorites:

1. Spend the day at a rooftop pool or catch the sunset with a cold margarita at a rooftop lounge. There are hundreds of unique rooftop venues throughout the city. Some of our favorites are at the lounge at The Gansevoort Hotel, Refinery Rooftop, and Rooftop 520. Another great spot to check out is the pool at The Dream Hotel where non-hotel guests have access to it's beautiful cabanas.

2. Escape the concrete jungle and see some green at one of New York's great parks. You can grab some ice cream and walk the High Line. Make a picnic in Central Park's infamous Sheep's Meadow. Stroll through the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. Or catch a free ferry ride over to Governor's Island and enjoy incredible views of The Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan. Talk about a nice change of scenery.

3. Enjoy something free! New York City rewards its career driven individuals with free to the public events such as concerts, movies, and plays. Shakespeare in the park puts on great regular plays in Central Park on starry nights throughout the summer. Every Monday night you can catch a free movie on a huge projector screen in Bryant Park. There's also the summer concert series in Central Park where you can dance and sing to some of the biggest names in music.

4. Lastly, but certainly not least (my personal favorite actually), FOOD! Every Saturday you can head over to Brooklyn and enjoy incredible bites at Smorgasburg, a weekly food festival showcasing some of the greatest local foods. New York is also home to some the greatest Italian Ice and Ice Cream shops where you can cool off and enjoy views of the skyline.

Hopefully these tips help. Vidicom wishes you all a cool and sexy summer in the city!

Instagram, the popular picture and video sharing app, is exploding beyond the realm of personal use. With over 300 million active users, Instagram has become an excellent tool for businesses to connect with their target consumers on a more intimate level. Companies are posting pictures and videos of their daily activities, promoting their products and services, and developing an image of their company culture in the public eye. Also company's can come up with an original hashtag that will be linked to their brand that can get trending and develop awareness, creating an easy way for users to find your content. Other features like geotagging let your followers know where you are in real time, so they can follow your day-to-day procedures, getting an inside sneak-peak in to what projects are in the making.

Here at Vidicom we are aware of the benefits of having an Instagram account and are in the works of creating a profile of our own! Users can expect to see some great posts that will offer an inside look into our daily activities here at our New York office! We can't wait to post behind the scenes clips of us filming our satellite media tour segments for consumers to get an exclusive look at the featured products. Stay tuned and be sure to look for Vidicom on THE GRAM as soon as we get our profile up and running.

The recipe for success in media and entertainment is changing. Cost for content is decreasing, advertisers want more relevance and interactivity, technology shifts are calling for a need to build relationships, social media and mobile marketing are expanding rapidly, and so much more. Here at Vidicom, we have identified these trends and adjusted accordingly to stay ahead of the pack. We already offer low cost content production without a decrease in quality. Our team of dedicated marketers generate hot leads daily as well as custom plans for clients. It is our main objective to create a community for our clients; one that is interactive and beneficial beyond traditional distribution channels. The rapid expansion of online videos, social and mobile media calls for innovation without fear of trying new things. Our culture at Vidicom is to empower one another to test new methods and learn from our successes or failures. Adapting to the ever-changing environment of the industry is essential to success... adapting is what we do.

To read up more on key trends in media and entertainment check out this great article from Strategy&:

Until recently, there was a clear recipe for success in media and entertainment: multiple revenue streams, scarce distribution outlets, and distinct exploitation windows. To thrive in today’s (and tomorrow’s) environment, however, companies need to drive both innovation and efficiency, embracing new approaches to content development, distribution, operations, technology, and monetization. In short, they need to adapt their strategies, capabilities, and operating models to address several key imperatives:Cost structures for content need to be significantly reducedConsumer time and spending are shifting to digital, but media companies’ ability to monetize consumer engagement in the digital arena is well below what it is in analog media. As a result, media companies need to fundamentally reduce the cost of their content. Key levers include introducing more variable cost by maintaining fewer staff editors and content producers and instead managing networks of external contributors; developing greater scale and consistency in approaches to content production and technology; and attacking fixed costs through centralization, outsourcing, offshoring, and portfolio rationalization.Advertisers are demanding more accountability, relevance and interactivitySpending on traditional paid media is coming under growing pressure as advertisers devote more resources to digital, database marketing, event marketing, place-based media and even loyalty programs. This shift requires media companies to increase their focus on innovation and ROI as they craft advertising solutions. It is also creating opportunities to build new businesses around lead generation, custom media, and marketing services.Technology shifts are affecting the value of content and distributionConsumers are no longer satisfied just to enjoy print, video, or other forms of entertainment and information passively. In today’s search-driven world, consumers are actively looking for control, community, and interactivity. Ad-supported media companies, therefore, need to develop a robust digital toolkit to build premium inventory, whether in targeted and tagged site areas, interest-specific e-newsletters, or registration-required applications. The goal for media companies: move from creating impressions to building relationships with consumers, both directly and on behalf of marketers. New strategies combining content and applications can offer significant value to media and entertainment companies across both traditional and digital media. For example, companies can use relationship marketing strategies to drive consumers to stores, theaters, and other screens as well as to activate other desirable actions.Online video, social media and mobile media are expanding rapidlyMedia and entertainment companies need to ensure they participate actively in the growth platforms of the future. Making this happen will require mastering a new set of skills and strategies involving portfolio and business development, software, and technology. Creating a successful culture of innovation will also be a key element of the path forward. For many media companies, this will require greater openness in innovation processes, and the need to embrace more systematic “test and learn” approaches — trying many things, but scaling up only those that work.

The team at Vidicom is comprised of so many talented recent college graduates as well as some very brilliant interns! We feel the need to give back! We see firsthand the cost involved in receiving a quality education and have made it our mission to take some of the financial burden off the shoulders of deserving students. We are pleased to offer eligible students the chance to apply for a Vidicom Scholarship.

Our Organization

Innovation is the root of Vidicom We were first to videotape fashion shows for broadcast. Shortly after, Vidicom launched Citybuzz, which became the first in-hotel TV network and began broadcasting online, in taxis, and in-flight as an environment for branded content. The lifestyle video news release Vidicom created 30 years ago has morphed into an interactive game changing digital InteracTV, linking major brands with consumers directly through their own digital outlets. Leveraging 30 years of media relationships is key to how we customize distribution for our branded content.

How to apply for a Vidicom Scholarship

Please submit a 500-1000 word essay about the most interesting website you have visited in the past year. Please explain what makes this site so personally interesting to you, and what factors contribute to the site’s excellence. It can be because the site informs you on a personal passion, is graphically beautiful, entertains you or simply makes your life easier in some way.

Please be sure to send us your contact information and the school you attend/plan to attend

All submissions must be received by March 1, 2016

You will be judged on

Essays will be judged on how well they are written, how well they represent the personality of the writer, and how compelling and interesting they are.

Eligibility

The Vidicom Scholarship is open to any student attending an accredited institution. High school seniors who are enrolling upon graduation are also eligible. Students of all majors and planned majors are welcome to apply. You must be a U.S. citizen in order to apply. You must be 16 years of age.

The scholarship awards will be sent directly to the financial aid office of the institution the winner is enrolled in.